Artist of the month

Posted on 01/05/2014 in itcsra.org

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  India`s legendary classical vocalist Aruna Sairam was born in the multicultural metropolis of Mumbai into a family with a deep love of music. Her mother, Smt. Rajalakshmi, was her first teacher in the art of Carnatic music, the classical music of South India. Her father, Shri Sethurman, hosted many of the foremost musicians and dancers from northern and southern India in the family home. It was during this time that Aruna met her Guru, Sangita Kalanidhi Smt.T.Brinda, who trained her in the style of her own mentor, Veena Dhanammal, one of the most outstanding figures in Carnatic music.

  
  As a child, Aruna demonstrated an extraordinary aptitude for music. It won her first gold medal at the age of eight at the Shanmukhananda Sabha Competition in Bombay. Aged 14, she performed her first full-length solo concert at the Rama Navami festival, Bhajana Samaj in the same city. She won the Best Young Musician Award at the annual conference held at the famed Music Academy in Chennai when she was only 21 years old. Aruna began to get noticed as a serious musician of great promise and went on to render performances throughout the country.

  
  Over the following years Aruna brought her own approach to Carnatic music drawing on her Guru’s pure classical style. Her musical perceptions were enriched by exposure to film, western and Hindustani classical music. She ushered in a new approach to concert presentation, extending the boundaries of the Carnatic repertoire while remaining firmly rooted in the classical grammar and tradition of this great art form.
  
  Shri S Ramachandran, from the style of Chittor Subramanya Pillai, taught her the fine nuances of nereval singing (improvising within poetic texts). A.S. Mani, a disciple of Tiger Vardacharyar, guided her through the creative process of swara singing (improvising with the sol-fa). Prof T R Subramanyam, an acclaimed music professor at Delhi University, shared with Aruna his expertise of singing and spontaneously composing within ragam-tanam-pallavi. KS Narayanaswamy, the respected veena maestro, taught her the subtlety of gamakas – the microtonal oscillations which hallmark and transport Carnatic music.
  
  Despite imbibing and absorbing these riches, Aruna felt the need for guidance in voice training to acquire the physical capability to fully express her creativity and knowledge through her voice. During this search, she met German voice maestro Prof Eugene Rabine, who helped her discover and apply a completely new sound and emotion to her voice. She later had the benefit of advice and guidance from one of Carnatic music’s magisterial vocalists, Dr. Balamurali Krishna. 
  
  Aruna Sairam has created and performed a dazzling range of South Indian classical music repertoire in varied spaces from intimate chamber settings and salon music concerts to large auditoria. Her repertoire includes varying classical, semi-classical and folk music forms and genres in several languages. Her music has also provided sound for dance, film and television. By continuously interacting with international musicians, Aruna communicates through music that goes beyond geographic borders, regional contexts and cultural mores. She uses melody as a language of basic and refined human expression. Aruna has had the privilege of performing in venues as the Indian President`s official residence– Rashtrapati Bhavan, at Shakthi Sthal – and the memorials to Indian Prime Ministers, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi at Vir Bhoomi. She has also performed across the length and breadth of the country, bringing the richness of South Indian classical music to people from all walks of life from major international cities to the humblest hamlets and rural villages.
  
  She was invited by BBC Proms to perform at London’s Royal Albert Hall as the first South Indian classical vocalist in the Proms’ history – at that point in its 116-year history– in 2011. Aruna has also performed, among other important international venues, at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Théâtre de la Ville in Paris, and Morocco’s Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. Aruna Sairam has been honoured by the many national and international awards including the Padma Shri and the US Congress Proclamation of Excellence, where upon the US national flag was flown atop the Capitol building with a special Congressional proclamation recognising her musical contribution.

  
  To date Aruna has recorded over 50 records. Her recordings span classical repertoires, thematic presentations, concert recordings and collaborations with German, French, Moroccan and other international artists.Following are excerpts of her performance during the ITC Sangeet Sammelan, Kolkata, where she was accompanied by Shri Mysore H.N. Bhaskar on the violin, Shri Sai Giridhar on the mridangam and Shri S.V. Ramani on the ghatam.

   

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